Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under R.N.I 53640/91
Vol. XXXIII No. 9, August 16-31, 2023
Archives: Vol. XXXIII No. 9, August 16-31, 2023
Chennai Heritage - Madras Musings Lecture Series for Madras Week 2023
August 21, Monday – Glimpses of Devan’s Madras – Jayaraman Raghunathan – The Park, Anna Salai, 600 006.
August 22, Tuesday – A Social Transformation via Surfing – Arun Vasu – Amethyst, Whites Road, Chennai 600 014.
August 23, Wednesday – Pictures from the Past as seen through the lens of M.K. Rangaswami Iyengar – Dr. Chithra Madhavan – Chamiers, Chamiers Road, Chennai 600 028.
August 24, Thursday – Bringing Kodak to Madras – Raju Easwaran – Savera, Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai, Chennai 600 004. (Event in collaboration with Cinema Rendezvous.)
August 25, Friday – Put me among the Pin Codes – Sriram V – Residency Towers, 115, Sir Thyagaraya Rd, Parthasarathi Puram, T. Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600017.
August 26, Saturday – Kathalikka Neramillai, 60 Years Later – Mohan V. Raman presents and is in conversation with Smt. Devasana Sridhar, Kum. Sachchu and Chithralaya Gopu – GRT, Sir Theyagaroya Road, Theyagaroya Nagar, Chennai 600 017.
August 27, Sunday – The Digital Transformation of Chennai and Tamil Nadu – S. Mahalingam (Former CFO, TCS), Hanu Reddy Residences, Poes Gardens, Teynampet, Chennai 600 086.
Timings for all events: 5.30 to 6.00 pm – refreshments; 6.00 to 7.00 pm – event.
All are welcome, no pre-registration required. Events will not be relayed live on social media. There will be no recordings to be put up on YouTube later.
Survey of North Chennai begins – But will it yield results?
-- by The Dy. Editor
The whole of North Chennai will be the subject of a survey to identify gaps in infrastructure. This is part of the Rs 1,000 crore Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam announced by the Chief Minister for the equitable development of the city. As many as 1,000 (some reports have it as 500) volunteers from city colleges have been roped in to conduct the survey, which it is said will cover the social, economic, and psychological aspects of life in that part of the city. As per a press release of the Greater Chennai Corporation, the survey will cover Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram, Tondiarpet and Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Kolathur and Anna Nagar.
All of this is to the good, given that this is a part of the city which has historically been neglected. It is an interesting commonality among the four metropolises of India that their southern halves have always received far more attention than the northern equivalent. In Chennai, the reason is not far to seek. The north was where most of the industrial development once happened, while the south was essentially residential, meant for the middle and upper classes. That resulted in skewed development. You need to only visit each of these areas in turn to see how they can in fact be two different worlds.
There are however
Long Overdue: Civic policies governing the safety of heavy vehicles on city roads
-- by A Special Correspondent
On August 11, a freight lorry carrying sand was driving on GST road, making its way towards Tambaram. Rash driving caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle near the Potheri railway junction, knocking down two two-wheelers and endangering the pedestrians waiting to cross at the traffic light near the railway junction. Four persons lost their lives in the incident, including two college students who were killed on the spot. According to reports, the driver absconded soon after, but the authorities managed to apprehend him the same evening.
Lost Landmarks of Chennai
-- by Sriram V.
Mylapore’s Lost Harbour
In that Mayilai whose fringes are washed by the waves,
A settlement where men spear the fish,
In a dense and dark grove is seated Kapali
O Poompavai have you gone away without seeing His festival of Adirai?
Thus runs a verse in
Let’s watch Kalidas (1931) together
-- by S.A. Muthuvel, muthuvelsa@gmail.com
If one were to search on Google as to which film was the first Tamil talkie, the answer will be Kalidas. The first Telugu talkie is said to be Bhakta Prahalada (1932). That Kalidas – first released in South Indian languages a year earlier in 1931 – was a Telugu-Tamil bilingual talkie is clear from records of its song books and promotional material. Why then isn’t it touted as the first Telugu talkie? Why does cinema history adopt seemingly contrarian positions for Telugu and Tamil?
